John Hart talks about “The Hush” on “North Carolina Bookwatch” today at 11 a.m. and Thursday, Feb. 22 at 5 p.m.

After his five New York Times bestselling literary thrillers, his winning the Edgar Award for Best Novel twice, and earning the North Carolina Award for Literature, what can we expect from Hart’s sixth novel, “The Hush,” which hits the bookstores this month?

As always with him, it will be something special.

Many longtime fans will rejoice when they see that the new book’s main character is Johnny Merrimon, the lead character in Hart’s earlier book, “The Last Child.”

Johnny is 10 years older. He now lives alone on an isolated 6,000 acre tract near a Salisbury-like city near the Yadkin River.

His ownership of the family land is being challenged. He has almost run out of money. And the land is full of mystery, danger, and a touch of magic that Johnny must face and conquer.

Hart will be at South Main Book Co. on Thursday March 1, at 6 p.m. to sign books and talk to readers.

Look for a review of “The Hush” on the Feb. 25 book page.

D.G. Martin’s guest for the Feb. 25 and March 1 editon of “Bookwatch” will be Elizabeth Kostova, author of “The Shadow Land.” Kostova, of Asheville, made her debut with the No. 1 New York Times bestseller, “The Historian.”

That book followed two scholars as they searched for the origins of Vlad the Impaler, better know as Count Dracula.

The new book is about a young woman from Asheville and her adventures in Bulgaria. Kostova describes the beauty of the country and its troubled past.

Second part of trilogy

Dr. M.J. Simms-Maddox will have a booksigning on Friday, March 2, 6-8 p.m. at South Main Book Co., 110 S Main St.

She will be signing the middle book in The Priscilla Trilogy, “Mystery in Harare.” The first book was “Priscilla: Engaging in the Game of Politics.”

The book is 447 pages and costs $19.95.

Simms-Madox is a political science professor at Livingstone College.

For more information, go to http://www.novelsbymj.com.